Saskatchewan River Crossing, AB 330 KM

No internet last night so this is posted from Calgary. The coolest ride yet. Temperature-wise (low 20s). Scenery-wise too. We just checked into our room for the night. It is now a thunder and lightning driven mountain storm out there. Good timing. It has been a few years since we have ridden the icefield parkway. A downside to a superb motorcycle ride was the traffic. I guess you really can’t blame people to want to get out and about after what has been going on the last year and a half. Well a lot of them are indeed out and about around here. We went into Jasper for an early lunch and fuel. Wow, crowds and traffic jams. Another downside is the haze in the air (smoke from BC wildfires?). The parkway scenery is just as captivating as ever. The glacier keeps receding, of course. We stopped at the toe parking lot and watched the throngs walking to/from the glacier. In the parking lot is an enterprising individual that gives guided walking tours of the glacier. On the road in they have markers showing the extent of the glacier from 1908 on. This is our last post as we are in Calgary – home tomorrow.

Valemount, BC 472 KM

 A beautiful sunset capped last evening at the appropriately named View Hotel in Fort St. James. Before dinner last night we went for a walk along the main drag. Not one but two RCMP vehicles were patrolling and stopping to talk to the young people on the side of the road. Not sure if Friday night is usually rowdy there

Stuart Lake from hotel room

This morning we left at 0830 and retraced our route to Vanderhoof (gave Subway a miss) and on through Prince George. The Yellowhead highway appears to take a tortuous route through residential Prince George – at least that is what the map suggests. So we went on a bypass road around the city. It may have taken longer but we are sure it paid dividends in reduced frustration. Once out of the city it is clear sailing for 200 km of BC bush to McBride. There are no rooms available in McBride because there is a CN mega-crew there. We knew that something was up as we could not pre-book there.

Once again, nice wildflower displays along the roadside. The temperature all day was just perfect. But then anything cooler than 35C would be good after last week’s torture.

Roadside Wildfowers

We met a black bear who apparently just had a bath in the ditch. He left a cute little trail of foot prints across the road behind him. Initially we thought we had scared the pee right out of him and that was the trail. It was only later when we looked at the video on the GoPro that we realized it was wet foot prints.

Wet Black Bear

Wet footprints

We stopped at a rest stop which contained a memorial cairn. In 1974 eight young men - six of them about to graduate from Prince George Senior Secondary School and the other two in Grade 11 - set out Saturday morning for a canoe trip that was to end that evening. They never made it. Their three canoes and a kayak capsized and were swallowed by rapids in the Willow River Canyon before the swollen river emptied into the Fraser. Gone. When the news broke the next day -- Mother's Day -- the city was in shock and disbelief. Some Mother's Day for the eight moms.

We are in Valemount, BC tonight – a popular recreation area. We are staying at an impressive Best Western in a suite-like room. After having a late lunch we decided to share a seafood pasta dinner. It was wonderful but just enough to allow for warmed chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow we head through the Columbia Icefields.

Fort St. James, BC 336 KM

If you read our blog entry from a few days ago we mentioned how disappointed we were with the road report for HWY 20 on Drive BC’s website. This prompted us to send the  following email to Drive BC: The below road condition appears on your website and is outdated and incorrect. All that appears to have been done for many weeks is the date has been changed. Please ask your contractor to provide an accurate update. They answered promptly: Hi Douglas, Thank you for your comment on the condition messaging for Highway 20. It does appear that message has been in place and refreshed 4 times daily since June 6.  I’ve forwarded your comment to the Service Area Operations Manager who will verify and communicate with the contractor as necessary.

The road condition message has been changed. It is nice to think that we, in an indirect manner, have provided better information for fellow travelers.

We left Smithers at a leisurely 8:15 am this morning. Did not have to beat the heat today. Before we started on this journey we had friends tell us what a beautiful little town Smithers is and they sure are right. It is nestled in the snow-capped mountains. It isn’t just the scenery. There is a very nice calm feel about it. It just seems so attractively well cared for and people are welcoming and friendly.

The weather was sunny and in the high teens – low 20s – perfect for motorcycling. We retraced our path to Vanderhoof where we stopped at a Subway for lunch as we often do while travelling. The sandwiches are reliable and usually the facilities are acceptable. Not so the Vanderhoof Subway. The parking lot was littered with garbage that had been there for a while: crushed, empty liquor bottles, etc. The washroom had no toilet paper, the drink dispenser served only warm pop. I think you get the picture. So will Subway Canada, as we took some today and will see if we can find a comment page on line.

After lunch we proceeded along Highway 27 through hay fields and forest to Fort St. James. The major reason we took the side journey was to visit the Parks Canada Historic Site: the 1800’s fur trading post. It is located on Stuart Lake. There were a number of restored buildings many with on-site guides in period costumes who seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. They explained the unique features of each location, whether it be the store, officer’s house, etc.

Child's crib

Dried fish demo

1800s style recliner demoed by guide

Fur trading post grounds

It is very well done and reminds us of Ft. Steele in the Kootenays. Doug fed the workhorse in the corral a handful of grass. Norma even got to pet a baby goat! The two cute little things were only two weeks old and momma didn’t even seem to notice we were near her kids.

Norma and 2 week old goat.

Smithers, BC 0km

So now to tell you why we made our way to Smithers. Today we attended a dedication of a new bear cub enclosure in memory of Norma’s sister-in-law’s deceased brother Bruce. This took place at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter just outside of Smithers. The shelter has been providing care for injured and orphaned wildlife for over 30 years. They accept wild animals from squirrels to grizzly bears from all over BC. Their aim is to release the animals back into their home habitat once it is determined the animal can survive in the world. Pre COVID the shelter would host an open house once a year on Canada day. It is off limits any other day and was only open for us today because of the dedication.

As attendees of the dedication ceremony the staff provided us with a tour of most of the facility (not all, as some of the animals were being isolated from human contact prior to being released). We saw the hospital where injured wildlife were being cared for (e.g. a black bear cub that was hit by a vehicle) as well as various enclosures with bears, a siberian lynx (apparently someone’s “pet” that got too hard to care for), a porcupine, fox kits, etc. There were two moose calves that were being bottle fed – they are “vigorous” feeders!

There were three tiny cubs in the new enclosure. They were very shy as they had just arrived a day ago. There were 8 cubs in another enclosure where they were climbing, rough housing and generally being kids. Very cute and entertaining.

The actual dedication took place in front of the new bear cub facility and involved the presentation of a plaque, the planting of a lilac tree with some ashes and the placement of two commemorative stones. The weather was beautiful in a wonderful setting at an admirable facility, with a snow capped Hudson Bay mountain in the background. A satisfying day.

Smithers, BC 470km

Once again we were on a heat beating schedule and were on the road in Quesnel before 7 am. We almost ended up spending a lot of time in that town! Just on the northern outskirts of town, morning traffic was heavy and we spied a cloud of dust ahead of us. Traffic ahead of us quickly stopped and put on 4way flashers. Obviously an accident. Luckily we were able thread our way past two logging trucks and enter the intersection. There was a person lying on the road being attended to and there were pieces of vehicle scattered about including a truck canopy upside down beside a pickup truck.  Knowing full well they would shut the highway down at the first opportunity we carefully proceeded through the obstacle course of debris and rode away. Sometimes there are definite advantages to motorcycling. From the net:

Highway 97 is blocked in both directions in Quesnel. (Cassidy Dankochik Photo - Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

UPDATE: Traffic is flowing once again along Highway 97 in Quesnel. The road had been closed in both directions as emergency crews tended to a multi-vehicle crash that sent at least one person to the hospital. The collision was on the top of a hill in the north of Quesnel, near Keis Avenue. Crews were called to the scene just before 7:00 a.m. on June 30.

After that near miss we travelled to Prince George and on to the Yellowhead Highway 16. To the visitor the towns along the way seem quite similar in appearance – usually situated near a body of water with an outer industrial area and perhaps a mill. They all have many logging trucks. In fact, at two locations on the highway there were signs stating “important intersection ahead” leading off to a forest service road.

Vanderhoof

Overall it is a pleasant ride with some beautiful wildflower displays on the roadside. We remember remarking on this last year. On our return trip we have to remember to stop just north of Houston and take some pictures. We will have extra time that day. Today it was particularly pleasant because the further we went the COOLER it got! We even encountered wet roads but missed getting rained on by a few minutes. We did see lightning in the distance. The bike recorded 22C as we entered Smithers. What a nice break from the heat! We see they are still suffering at home.

Typical Yellowhead highway view

Our goal has been to meet up with Norma’s brother Gerry and sister-in-law Dawn. They had arrived at the hotel just ahead of us. More on the reason for this encounter tomorrow.

Quesnel, BC 474 km

 Last night we treated ourselves to a gourmet dinner at the resort. Fresh salad (Anahim Lake has its own greenhouse operation and farmer’s market) followed by pork kabobs with tzatziki accompanied by a delicious quinoa pilaf. And don’t forget the ice-cream with fresh berries! It is too bad we didn’t have more time and less heat to explore the resort. It finally cooled enough about 10pm to sit outside in our screened in balcony. We even attracted enough frustrated mosquitos to land on the screen and assist in moving the air through with their collective wing beats. Our unit was not air conditioned but did have a big ceiling fan and later by opening windows on both ends of the room we managed to get a cross breeze.

Resort Grounds

Resort Grounds

Today we retraced our highway 20 route back through Williams Lake and north on 97 to Quesnel. We did need some fuel but wanted to get away early so opted to wait ‘til Tatla Lake as we knew there was a pump there. We had stopped there on our way in. Except it was closed. And is apparently only open three times a week on mail delivery days. Oh, oh. Fuel is a long way apart in this country. Luckily Norma managed to get help from the local motel operator who sold us some gas from her lawnmower supply.  We probably could have made it to the next station, but that took the “probably” out of the equation.

A puff of dust ahead means gravel. Again.

Today we had the same herds of cows and horses to make our way through but we had an added bonus. We finally did spot a bear. Well actually we almost made a mid-size black bear into road kill! He/she came up out of the ditch at great speed right in front of us. A bit of rapid heartbeat for a few minutes. Not enough time to get pictures.

Tomorrow we ride through Prince George to Smithers. The weather is supposed to moderate somewhat which is good as the heat is very draining. Today we opted to skip lunch and keep going to our reservation in Quesnel. Neither one of us was hungry in the 37C temperatures (crossing the Fraser River Canyon it read 38.5C). We did stop for lots of drinks though. You get dehydrated so quickly with the air rushing past and the heat. Yes, we used our cooling vests again.

Chilcotin scenery

Anahim Lake, BC 332 km

 The ride from Williams Lake was interesting. For the first couple of hours the forests lining the road had either been beetle killed or burnt or maybe a combination of both. The deforestation has contributed to an erosion problem with associated slides, flooding etc. Lots of wide open vistas and ranch land. The small communities along the way have basic services. See the general store at Tatla Lake. We saw lots of logging trucks, lots of big and small lakes with resorts and camp grounds, lots of fishing places, lots of trucks with campers and lots of bugs, including mosquitoes, black flies and horse flies. Made you want to get your helmet back on quickly. In fact there was more traffic than we had expected to see.

Tatla Lake Genral Store

Drive BC says the following about the road:

Highway 20 - Highway 20. Muddy sections 39 km west of Anahim Lake to Alexis Creek. Last updated Mon Jun 28 at 11:43 AM PDT. (DBCRCON-101167)

This is a very disappointing show by Drive BC. There is no mud. None. Well one man made area where the work crews had wet things down to combat the dust. It has been in the mid-30s! There are numerous short sections (100 meter pieces, maybe) of gravel mostly where the pavement has been destroyed by frost heaves. They are all well marked. There are many well marked potholes and heaves as well. There are 3 short construction areas where they are relaying the roadbed with what appears to be frost heave mitigation techniques. And the road is just fine for the last half of Drive BC’s report. All they have been doing is changing the date on a very old report.

Probably the biggest road hazard is getting run over by a free range cow. In fact at one point Norma quickly turned on the GoPro thinking it was a big black bear butt but, sigh, only another cow.

We are actually about 12 km west of Anahim Lake at the Eagle’s Nest Resort. Because we left so early to try and beat the heat (we didn’t) we did not have lunch until Anahim Lake. The last 11 km is a dirt road – a bit surprising because that is not what our map shows. The resort is perched on a peninsula of a pretty trout filled lake. It has lots of outdoor gardens and gathering areas. Apparently it is built around an old log cabin which used to be local watering hole for the area pioneers. We did walk down to the lake. The fish were sure jumping. Too bad it is just too hot out there to comfortably explore more. 

Williams Lake, BC 401 km

+37C in Williams Lake? We continue to receive our illustration of global warming. And continue to see the benefits of having hotel loyalty cards as we are stretching (obliterating?) check in times by starting to travel very early and stopping very early. Today we checked in at 1:00 pm. Motorcycling ceases to be enjoyable by 35C. The bike suffers as well – especially tires.

Heat notwithstanding today’s ride was quite pleasant due to relatively sparse traffic. Most of the route was a repeat of part of our Cassiar trip last summer so comparisons of river and creek levels were made, etc. We basically rode from a shady spot to a shady spot – no shade, no stopping. Cooling vests were on for the last hour and could have been put on earlier.

Shady spot

Very nice displays of wildflowers along the way. We certainly like our compact Olympus travel camera. It functions well at a macro (close-up) level as you can see from the wild rose image, and has a 24X optical zoom to boot.

Tomorrow we embark on the first of the 3 “reasons” for this trip. A new route for us will be to ride to Anahim Lake via Highway 20. Apparently the road has not fared well over the winter so we are expecting some “rough” sections. We will attach the Go-Pro for the first time. We have booked a room at a lakeside resort.

I guess it is appropriate that we should be in the Anahim Lake – Williams Lake area tomorrow, June 28, the first game of the 2021 Stanley Cup final series. According to the net: when Carey Price was three, his family moved to the remote town of Anahim Lake in central British Columbia where he was raised. He was taught to play goaltender by his father on a frozen creek during the winter months and played organized hockey in Williams Lake over five hours and 320 kilometres away by car on Highway 20.

Vernon, B.C. 356 km

We are not going to dwell on this astounding heat wave we are experiencing but suffice to say this is the first time on all the motorcycles we ever owned that the environmental temperature sensor read +40C.  Downtown Vernon, B.C. no less. We have seen it read below 0C a few times and a cute snowflake appears next to the number so we expected something for +40C but we were disappointed. It should have a fire cracker or something else impressive.

The ride to Vernon today was a mostly a familiar one via 31A and 6. Lots of bikes on the road as both are famous motorcycling routes. We left just before 8am. We stopped at the mountain lake rest stop at the summit of Monashee Pass for a packed picnic lunch. Doug donned his soaked cooler vest at that point while Norma waited ‘til Cherryville, a bit further along. They definitely increase evaporative cooling while cruising but become stifling in city traffic. We don’t use them a lot but I remember the first time we soaked them in the Rio Grande in Texas.

Probably the most interesting highway encounter today was with a cow moose and her baby. Oh, oh, you might think. And yes, we slowed quickly when we saw them, staying well clear and honked a lot. Luckily they proceeded on their way without mother moose taking exception to our presence. There are lots of documented cases of moose-motorcycle confrontations. If you think of what a motorcycle might look like to a nearsighted moose (think of the mirrors mimicking antlers) you can understand why.

Tomorrow morning early we will leave for Williams Lake.

Nelson, B.C.

This is our first post since the summer of 2020. And the blogger people have redesigned the editor. Sometimes I think the program designers do these things simply because they can and the changes are made for the sake of change rather than improvement.

We will embark on our second COVID dictated summer tour tomorrow morning with stops at such notable places as Anahim Lake, Smithers and Fort St. James, to see some locations we have never seen and to motorcycle some new roads in the process. Our plan is to circle back through Calgary provided the "Only BC Travel" mandate has been lifted by then. 

As usual we plan to record our progress through regular updates on this blog. We will have the GO-PRO to catch midride images as well as interest shots at stops using our travel camera.